


Learning Curve (Human Stevinel College AU)

by Gamergirlmoira



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Human, Angst and Humor, Drama & Romance, Fluff and Smut, Implied Sexual Content, Other, Romantic Fluff, Sexual Content, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:37:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21908317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gamergirlmoira/pseuds/Gamergirlmoira
Summary: A new day, a new chapter begins in Steven Universe's life, and that new chapter in his life has Steven attending a college of his choice. What's even better, the college is only a few miles from Beach City. What else could be new for Steven Universe? And what could POSSIBLY go wrong?
Relationships: Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe, Lapis Lazuli/Peridot (Steven Universe), Spinel/Steven Universe
Comments: 8
Kudos: 44





	1. Chapter 1

Steven was practically jumping in his seat from excitement, but he attempted to sit as still as he possibly could since he was on a bus. The male clutched the straps of his big backpack that was settled onto his lap, and he felt the bus come to a slow stop at a bus stop, but after that the vehicle would begin it's long trip outside of Beach City, and to the Ivory Crystal College. Steven was looking outside the window, and was barely paying attention to the passengers who were getting off the bus, and whoever was getting on the bus. The male did glance at the last passenger, a female with wild pink dyed hair that was tied up into two large ponytails, and that same female sat near the front of the bus with earbuds in her ear. Stevens brown eyes continued to linger at the female for a bit longer than he should've, luckily the pink haired female was to engrossed in whatever music she was listening to even notice the male staring at her. Steven blinked once he realized that he was looking for to long, and he turned his attention to the passing landscape of the countryside, everything outside the bus seemed like a blur as the vehicle drove on. After what felt like about an hour, the bus slowed to a stop, and Steven couldn't help but grin as he got off the bus, for he finally arrived at his destination. As he rushed off the bus, he swung his backpack onto his back, his pink organic bomber jacket fluttered gently in the breeze as he rushed onto the cement pathway. After taking a few steps, he stared up at the very large building in awe, his brown eyes twinkled like stars as he continued to look on. Soon he felt like he was tackled by someone in a rough hug, "Ste-man! You made it!" The feminine voice shouted, Steven instantly recognized the nickname, and recognized who hugged him. "GEEZ Amethyst, it's good to see you!" Steven laughed in excitement before twirling his friend while returning her hug, "you excited for your first day of college dude?" she asked after releasing the male from the hug. "Not officially my first day, but yes, I'm so excited about going on the "Newcomers Tour" with all of the new students moving in~" Steven smiled happily, "well hurry up man, that big crowd over there is where your supposed to go for that tour" Amethyst pointed to a very large crowd that was gathered on the front lawn, "oh thanks Amethyst, I'll see ya later ok?" Steven stated before rushing off to join the crowd, leaving the purple long haired friend to roll her eyes and chuckle out of amusement. 

Steven was soon a part of the crowd, he played with his brown curly hair as his brown eyes scanned the crowd. The male noticed that most of the new students seemed either bored out of their minds, or more nervous than anything. Stevens brown orbs landed on a familiar figure, the same pink haired female from on the bus, and she was a part of one of those bored students since she was tapping away at her phone. Steven took these few seconds to study the female, he noticed that she was dressed rather..... extrordinary. A black tank top with an dark pink upside down heart logo that was cracked in the middle, and the female was wearing a pair of short pink shorts along with black and fuchsia stripped stockings with her combat boots. Now unlike last time where Steven was able to look away before he was caught, the female noticed him staring, and she appeared to be extremely annoyed. Steven didn't realize he was caught staring until the girl began to approach him, which made him blush out of embarrassment. "Hey! What're you staring at?" She asked, stepping closer as she spoke at the male. Steven immediately felt intimidated by the approaching female, and he took a step back when she was now face to face with the male, "uh-uh sorry, I saw you on the bus earlier...." He began to explain, his heart thumped in his chest from terror as his brown eyes observed the female's facial features.   
The male noticed how she was wearing eyeliner, mascara that was mostly on her lower eyelashes with dark pink eyeshadow, and he even noticed how she was wearing pink contact lenses. "Hmph.....you're new aren't you?" The female asked, she crossed her arms in front of her chest while tapping her foot on the ground. "Y-Yea I am....how'd you know?" Steven asked, his heart started to slow down a bit even though he was still scared about what the female was about to do to him. "Yeah, it's easy to tell who the fresh blood it. Do ya self a favor and stop staring you creep" the female hissed "or you'll lose something precious" she spat before walking away from Steven. Steven would be shaking in his boots, well if he was wearing boots, however he was just wearing his usual pink flip flops. Soon the group began to move in a direction, in which Steven hesitantly followed, and even though he was intimidiated no longer than a few seconds ago, he still had to know exactly where everything was so he wouldn't be a lost lamb in the massive school.

After a couple hours, the tour soon came to an end, and now Steven was now allowed to able to go find his dorm. Steven was a bit exhausted from walking around so much, and he was also exhausted from avoiding the pink hair dyed female during the tour since he didn't want to make her angry again. He trudged through the hallway of the third floor of the boys dorm, his backpack was hanging off of his back by one strap. Soon Steven arrived at his dorm room, the number plaque at the top of the door read 309, which matched the number on the piece of paper that had Stevens assigned room number printed on. The male then took out his assigned key and unlocked the rooms door, he then flicked the light switch to the on position, and as the lightbulb flickered on, he noticed that the semi-large room was bare except for a couple desks, a couple beds, a couple dressers, and a couple nightstands. As Steven stepped into the room, he noticed a second door which lead to what the male assumed was a bathroom. His flip flops echoed a bit in the room, and honestly he thought his roommate would have already been here. Well, I guess I'm alone for now, and now is the perfect time to nap I guess.... Steven thought to himself as he decided to choose the bed on the left, luckily the bed already had a set of sheets and a pillow on it. Steven sat on the edge of the bed and slid his flip flops off, and then he slid his pink jacket off of his body. Finally he collapsed backwards onto the bed and snuggled up into his pillow, where he finally drifted off into a blissful and peaceful slumber. After what felt like a while, Steven jolted into a seating position when he heard a loud THUD like sound coming from the doorway. His brown eyes immediately noticed the tall male that was struggling with carrying various boxes into the dorm room. "Here let me help!" Steven exclaimed, he shot off of the bed and rushed to grab a couple boxes that were about to fall out of the wobbly stack. "Whoa, hey thank you. You're Steven aren't you? I'm Jamie" the male spoke from behind his stack of boxes. As Steven grabbed a couple boxes, he was able to get a good look at his new roommate, now Jamie had somewhat shaggy light brown hair with brown eyes to match. "Y-Yea I'm Steven and it's nice meet you~" Steven introduced himself as he helped carry the boxes to Jamie's bed, "sorry I already claimed the left bed, I was taking a nap until I heard something fall" the male explained as he set the boxes down. "Oh I'm sorry, I'm afraid the cardboard collided with the corner of the door frame" Jamie chuckled before setting his share of the boxes on a dresser. "Huh, maybe today will turn out better than I thought....." Steven mentally thought, he continued to listen to Jamie talk about other things while smiling softly.


	2. Chp 2 (exploration)

After Steven had learned that Jamie worked as a part time mailman, and that he wanted to be an actor, there was a knock at the dorm's door. "I'll get it" Steven told Jamie before he stood up from his bed, he then walked over to the door and opened it, which revealed a tall and pale woman that was holding a couple boxes. "Pearl! You're here!" Steven exclaimed before taking the boxes from the female, "do you need help with the rest?" He asked before setting the boxes by his bed. "Garnet is actually helping out with bringing more of your boxes up, we can help unpack, organize and- " Pearl was about to ramble on until another voice with a British accent cut in. "Pearl relax, this is Stevens space, we're just here to drop off his things before I go to unpack my things..." a taller woman spoke, she had a squarish styled afro and her eyes were hidden by sunglasses. "I know I know, I just wanted to help him out" Pearl mumbled before taking the boxes from Garnet. "Steven? Who're these two?" Jamie asked while he was still sitting on his bed. Steven felt a little embarrassed at the fact that he forgot about Jamie for a tiny bit, "Jamie this is Pearl, and this is Garnet, they're both my closest friends" he said as he introduced the two. "Hello" Pearl greeted before shaking Jamie's hand, "Howdy" Garnet greeted, followed by doing a finger gun motion, which made Jamie blush a bit. "Uh....uh nice to meet you two, h-hey Steven there's a club fair going on in the back fields, do you want to come check it out with me?" the flustered Jamie suggested before jerking his thumb to the door. "Ooooh, that sounds like a good idea, why don't you go take a look while me and Garnet bring up the rest of your stuff" Pearl suggested, putting her hands together while giving a sweet smile. "Sounds great, c'mon Jamie lets go!" Steven exclaimed while smiling excitedly, he then grabbed his roommates hand and basically dragged him out of the room. "Whoa slow down Steven, let me have my footing" Jamie joked as he stumbled along with his roommate's running. "Aw geez I'm sorry Jamie" Steven apologized as he slowed his pacing as to where he was now walking, and he let go of Jamie's hand in the process as the duo made their way outside. "Sooo Steven? Who are Pearl and Garnet?" Jamie asked, although the male blushed a bit when he spoke Garnets name. "Oh, Pearl has been taking care of me since I was a young child, and Garnet has been my friend since her mom's were friends with Pearl and my mom" Steven explained while smiling happily, the thought of him surrounded by his closest friends always warmed his young heart. "Does Garnet go here? I heard her mention something about "unpacking" her things..." Jamie asked, he fiddled with his fingers in a bashful manner. "Yeah, I think this is going to be here third year here? Yea that's it" Steven responded, the male didn't notice how shy and awkward the wannabe actor had become, "I think she's rooming with someone as well? I don't know much about her roommate either" he finished explaining when they arrived at the club fair.

  
Steven was examining every booth that caught his attention, which was almost every booth that involved something super creative, and he chuckled to himself when he saw Jamie helping the drama club pass out flyers. He also noticed a couple fraternities, both male and female fraternities were showing off in order to help attract attention, in which didn't impress Steven at all since he passed by without a second glance. However one booth in particular caught his eyes, and this prompted the male to inspect, a big banner hung over the booth and it read "Acapals" in big, bold, and blue letters. "Oh this is no use.....no one's going to join us at all!" A hopeless voice sounded from an extremely tall woman with curly black hair with faded pink streaks that was standing behind the booth, and she seems to be wearing a type of sun dress. "Rhodonite relax, we still have all afternoon to recruit new singers" a smaller female spoke, her bangs covered her eyes but it seemed like she knew exactly where to look, "besides, I think I have a feeling we're gonna have a new recruit or two" she finished. Steven definitely noticed the two bickering a little as he approached the booth, "excuse me? Where do I sign up?" he asked before resting his arms on top of the booth and leaning against side. "Huh? You want to join us? Really?" Rhodonite asked out of shock, and was surprised that someone just came out from nowhere and said that they'd join in a heartbeat. "Of course, I've always wanted to try Acapella and you guys seem nice enough. Music has always been a big factor of my life, and I want to share it with everyone" Steven stated, his smile was small but full of kindness as he talked to the pair. "Well that's great but.... Can you sing?" Rhodonite asked, she fidgeted in place a little when she asked that question, and hoped that she didn't sound rude. "Sure, I can sing a song I've been working on if you two want to hear it?" The male suggested, in which the two females nodded their heads. "I think we'll both enjoy his singing" the shorter female stated, "hush Papradscha, let's listen...." Rhodonite shushed the shorter female before leaning against the booth. Steven nodded and took a few steps back and cleared his throat, he then ran his fingers through your curly brown hair before he opened his mouth to sing.

I don't need you to respect me, I respect me  
I don't need you to love me, I love me  
But I want you to know you could know me  
If you change your mind  
If you change your mind  
If you change your mind  
Change your mind

As soon as Steven was done singing, he earned a few well earned applauses from the nearby booths, including Papradscha was clapping, "welcome to the group" she smiled happily. "Well ok then, h-here, practice starts next week.... please don't be late" Rhodonite stuttered before handing Steven a flyer, the paper crinkled as Steven gently grabbed it and looked it over. "Cool, I'll see you guys there.....and possibly around campus in between" Steven chuckled before waving goodbye, his right foot turned and he barely took a step with his left foot before he bumped into someone. "Oh sorry" Steven grunted a bit before he realized who he bumped into, and there could only be one female that could have a stare down with death using those pink colored eyes of hers. The familiar female gave a hiss of disapproval from being bumped into from the male that had already annoyed her this morning, "watch it, or else...." She growled while sneering at the male. Steven frowned at the females words, and decided to stand up straight before speaking "or what?" He asked before staring down the female. Then the next thing the male knew, she grabbed the lapel of Steven's jacket and basically brought him to his knees while she sneered at him, "or you'll get hurt. Badly...." Her words dripped with venom while she clutched the pink fabric. Steven gulped and trembled a bit, his heartbeat increased from the fear that this girl emenated. The pink colored eyes studied Stevens horrified face for a couple seconds longer before she let go of his collar with a slight shove. She soon walked away after Steven fell onto his butt from the slight shove, and grunted after falling onto the cool, green grass. "Hey, you need help up?" A deep and raspy, but femenine voice spoke out to Steven, which made the male look up to see who was talking. A very muscular girl towered over Steven, her long, semi whitish mane flowed down her body as she held a hand out to him. Steven clasped his hand with hers and was instantly pulled up with ease due to the strength from the helpful female, "I'm Jasper, I saw what happened" she introduced herself. "I'm Steven, thanks for helping me up" the male introduced himself while shaking Jaspers hand. "Don't mind Spinel, she's like that with....well everyone...." Jasper shrugged after letting go of Stevens hand, "just try to stay out of her way really" she explained. "Spinel huh? Hmmmm....why was she just standing right behind me?..." Steven asked mentally asked himself before responding to Jasper, "I kinda have a feeling that that will be difficult...."


	3. Chp 3 (First Impressions)

BEEP

BEEP

BEEP

BEEP

"UGH!" Steven grunted out of frustration, the annoying beeping from his alarm clock halted when the male slammed his hand onto the snooze button. He sighed as he sat up in his bed, the covers slowly fell from his body when he yawned and rubbed his eyes. Steven's brown eyes scanned the darkened room, and he realized that Jamie must've gotten a head start for the day since he wasn't even in the dorm room. Steven briefly glanced at his alarm clock, the bold red digital numbers read 8:00 am, which made his sigh out of exhaustion since he stayed up too late unpacking his belongings. "Just about fourty five minutes till my first class starts....I'll shower later, I'll just get dressed now and eat before I have to leave...." Steven thought to himself before he yawned again, his eye lids felt droopy but he reluctantly flung the covers off of his lower half, in which he stood up from his bed and headed to his dresser to get changed.

Steven was now rushing to his first class, an English literature lecture class to be exact, which of course was going to be held in one of the many lecture halls. He was running a bit late since he briefly lost track of time while eating his breakfast, which consisted of a granola bar and an apple. Steven briefly looked at his schedule to make sure he was heading to the right lecture hall, and as his brown eyes scanned the black printed text on the piece of paper, his body accidentally collided with a figure that was rounding the corner. Steven then fell backwards, the backpack he was wearing collided with the hard linoleum ground, a few snaps and cracks were audible from within the sack, however, he was more concerned about who he bumped into. Steven blinked his eyes a couple times, his mind finally registered exactly who he bumped into, and there could only be one person that has messy fuchsia colored hair that had been tied up into two ponytails. Spinel growled from being bumped into, now she didn't completely fall down, but she did stumble to the side a bit, and she used her hand to stop herself from colliding into a wall. "Watch it!" Spinel hissed as she regained her stance, her pink colored orbs watching Steven as he scrambled to stand up again. "I-I'm sorry!" He quickly apologized as he stood up completely, he then darted off to his lecture class which left a pissed off, but bewildered Spinel behind him. Steven panted as he stumbled into the lecture hall, only a couple students looked up to ogle at the male before they returned to do whatever it was they were doing, he then took this opportunity to shyly slink to a seat that was on the opposite side of the large lecture hall. Luckily it seemed that the professor was running a little late, which made Steven sigh in relief as he ran his fingers through his curly brown hair, he then noticed someone sit next to him. Curly red hair that was styled to almost look like a mohawk, both of the earlobes were stretched a bit by the gauges in his ears, and to be honest, Steven recognized the fellow student. "Lars?" He called the name, which made the fellow male student turn his head to look at him. "Oh Steven, I didn't recognize you, jeez you grew fast" Lars stated, ruffling the brown curly hair that belonged to Steven, "I didn't know you were joining this class, let alone this college". Steven chuckled after swatting Lars's hand away from his curly locks, "yeah, this is my first year, I didn't know you went here either" he stated. "I transferred here, mom and dad wanted me closer to home for now. But hey, at least I'm somewhere familiar now" Lars shrugged, however it seemed the topic about his parents left him feeling a bit dejected. 

The professors monotone voice continued to drone on, and even though he was just introducing how this English Literature Lecture class works, both Lars and Steven were already feeling bored out of their minds. Steven had noticed Lars glancing behind him every now and then, but he brushed it off and continued to attempt to listen to the professor, well that was until he felt the edge of a piece of paper brush against the side of his pinky finger. His brown eyes glanced over to see Lars casually sliding a note to him, in which Steven grabbed gently to read what was written for him. " There's a girl staring at me, everytime I look at her, she's still looking at me." Was what Lars had written. Steven glanced at Lars in a perplexed manner, and then he wrote "what girl?" before sliding the note back to Lars. He waited patiently as he watched Lars read the note for a couple seconds before scribbling some more on the note, he then handed the note back to Steven. "On the other side of the room, one row behind us" is what Lars had written in response, and honestly he felt a bit creeped out. Steven squinted as he read the note, and then he turned his head to glance behind his seat, his brown colored orbs scanned the other end of the row behind him until they landed on a familiar figure. Spinels pink colored eyes locked with Stevens brown eyes for a couple seconds, she sneered at him before looking away out of embarrassment. She continued to hold her sneer before she glanced back at the male, and just in time to, for she sees him blush a little before turning his attention back to the professor. "I don't think she was looking at you, she looked away when I looked at her. I think she was staring at me" Steven scribbled onto the back of the note before passing it back to his fellow classmate, and once Lars had read the note, he had to stifle a laughter by making it look like he was coughing. Steven rolled his eyes before turning his attention back to the professor, who had to pause briefly due to Lars fake coughing, but now Steven could feel Spinels eyes staring right at him, and this left him a bit unsettled.

After the English lecture was finally over, Steven desperately wanted to check out the library, and possibly check out a couple books he needed to read, or he'll need books that'll be necessary for his classes, probably both to be honest. The male stood in front of the double oak doors, he breathed in deeply as his hand intertwined with the door handle, and he then pulled the door wide open. Stevens brown eyes filled up with stars, various shelves filled with books, both old and new, filled the tremendously large room. Along with the books, there were also separate rooms mostly used for study groups, lounge chairs that are used to sit in so the patron can read a book or two, and computers for browsing the internet along with using them to help complete assignments. The librarian was reading her own book, however, she gave a kind smile to the curly brown haired male that returned the smile before he went to browse the shelves that held the fictional books. Stevens signature smile continued to spread across his face as his fingertips lightly grazed the spine of a certain book, he then pulled the book out of it's spot, the title read "unfamiliar familiar" which brought a wave of nostalgia to rush through his body and heart. He decided to check out the book, but before he did, he headed to the literature shelves in order to find the necessary English book he'd need until he can properly purchase a copy. As Steven scanned the bookshelves, his gaze soon landed on something peculiar, and that peculiar something was standing on the other side of the book shelf. Spinel was leaning up against a different bookshelf, her pink colored eyes were studying each detailed picture of some type of graphic novel, and this let Steven get a good look at the female. She was wearing a type of short black tank top that also resembled a hoodie with an upside down heart that was pink, cargo pants that seemed a bit to big for her since they seemed to almost slip down her waist, she was also wearing black combat boots that suited her, and her make up consisted of heavy eyeliner that went along with her rushed eyeshadow and mascara.


	4. Chp 4  (sweet & bitter)

Steven couldn't rip his gaze away from Spinel, he wasn't expecting her to be interested in graphic novels, and he decided to use that type of topic to properly talk to Spinel, provided that she immediately doesn't shove him again. Steven gulped and let his brown colored eyes linger for a little bit longer, which quickly darted away from the female when she briefly looked up from her graphic novel. Spinel didn't notice Steven right away since he was behind shelves that were mostly filled with books, but there was just enough space, from where he pulled a book out, for Spinel to see part of his face and some of his curly brown hair. This time however, she wasn't irritated that he was around, after all, the library is a public for students and teachers to check out materials needed for the year. Steven glanced over quickly once he believed that Spinel had looked away, and he sighed in relief when he noticed her attention had returned to her graphic novel. He gulped before taking a few steps down the isle of shelves, then when he approached the end of the row, he turned the corner and began to approach the female. Spinel didn't exactly notice that Steven was approaching her, well, not until she heard the sound of his flip flops becoming more audible. "Hey, I didn't know you read graphic nov-" Steven began to speak, only to be rushed to the side by an excited Jamie, and Spinel glanced up from her graphic novel to witness all of this. "Steven guess what!" Jamie asked, pulling Steven a few feet away from the curious Spinel, which made Steven sigh a little out frustration, "what is it Jamie?" he asked, even though he probably already knew what Jamie was going to say. "I joined the Drama, and the Improv club!" Jamie squealed, his face giddy from being ecstatic over joining a club that held his interests. "I saw you help with passing out the posters for the drama club, but hey, I'm glad you joined the Improv club as well" Steven smil.ed, "I joined the AcaPals, an acapella group" he stated proudly. "Oh wow really? I didn't know you could sing, do you also play an instrument?" Jamie asked, the duo unaware that Spinel was tuned into their conversation. "Actually yeah, I can perform on a bunch of different instruments, but my favorite one is my personal ukelele" Steven explained, slinging his backpack off his body, the head and part of the fret board was sticking out from the opened part of the backpacks zipper. "I've had this since I was a young kid, my dad taught me how to play it and even gave it-.....oh...." Steven sighed softly, he was excited at first to show Jamie one of his most prized possessions, but his happiness was washed away when he opened up his bag, only to bring out the semi smashed acoustic instrument with the fret board broken and splintered with the strings only holding the two pieces together. Jamie's face fell, "oh no, Steven what happened?" He asked, observing the broken instrument with Steven. "I don't know.....I think it was when I fell backwards earlier this morning...." Steven sighed softly, his brown colored eyes became glasses over, however he held back his tears as he stuffed the pieces into his backpack. "Can it be fixed?" Jamie asked gently, trying to sound a bit hopeful for his roommate, his hand gently rubbing Stevens back as a way to comfort him. "Maybe.....it's pretty busted though, I'll have it looked at later this week. I'm going to bring this back to our room, and I'll see you later ok?" Steven simply stated, in which Jamie nodded in response before walking away to a different part of the library. Steven sighed before turning around, hoping to talk to Spinel finally, only to find out that she had left during his and Jamie's conversation

Since Steven discovered that his ukelele was broken from his accidental fall from that morning, his mood shifted drastically. He trudged through the hallways of his dorm floor, a bit mentally and emotionally exhausted from the day, and he just wanted to retreat back to his room before anything else would happen. When he neared his door, the male couldn't help but feel a pair of unsettling eyes boring a hole through his torso, freezing him on the spot as his hand rested on the door knob. Steven turned his head to the right, his brown eyes scanned the empty hallway to find nothing, he then turned his head to the right, his brown eyes studying the seemingly empty hallway. Now the way this hallway works, it's a straight shot down to the end of the hallway, only to curve to the right to access the last of the boys rooms. Steven began to develop a sinking feeling in the bottom of his stomach, his feet finally began to move slowly, and he inched his way down the hallway to look around the corner. As soon as the male peered around the corner, his eyes landed on a familiar female figure leaning against the wall, her back was resting against the flat surface as her pink colored eyes locked onto Stevens, the sole of her right foot also laid flat against the wall. "Spinel? What're you doing here?" Steven asked, completely forgetting the fact that Spinel never introduced herself to him. Her pink colored orbs flashed with confusion, slight annoyance, and her mouth hung agape a bit to show how surprised she was, "how in the FUCK did you know my name?" she asked in a defensive manner. Stevens eyes widened slightly from her question, "O-Oh uh a woman named J-Jasper helped me up after y-you shoved me in the grass, and she mentioned what your name was..." Steven explained, backing up a bit from the approaching female, "w-wait how'd you get in the boys dorm?" he asked. "Don't worry about that, now answer me this...." Spinel spoke lowly as she slowly walked closer to Steven, "why were you staring at me at the library?" she finally asked. "H-Huh? Wait hold on, you were the one staring at me during the English Lecture, what was that about?" Steven asked, however he failed to realize that he was cornered in a, well, corner due to him backing up to much. "Why do you care about what I do exactly?" Spinel asked, annoyance dripped from her voice as she stepped even closer to her male. "I-I don't, well not fully, but for the most part, it was just super weird" Steven answered, now realizing just how close Spinel was to him, which made his face flush a light shade of pink hue. "Good...." Spinel huffed before walking backwards a couple steps, placing her hands on her hips as her pink colored eyes examined the male in front of her. "Hmph. Anyways, I didn't come here to confront you" Spinel huffed before turning her head to look away, her hands that wore fingerless gloves were still placed on her hips. "Huh? Then what're you doing here?" Steven questioned, his fear subsided a bit to let in some confusion. "Just....." Spinel sighed a little "hold out ya hand" she finished speaking, her pink colored orbs glanced back to look at Steven. "Why?" He asked, cocking his head as his curiosity increased, "what does she have planned?" the male mentally asked himself. Spinel turned to face Steven, a sneer developed on her face, "just do it!" She hissed, her voice had a commanding tone threaded within that slight Brooklyn accent of hers. Steven flinched from her sudden shouting, he then closed his brown colored eyes and held out his hand, the palm of his hand facing the ground. Suddenly he felt something warm wrap around his hand, which prompted the male to slowly open his eyes, his brown irises realized that Spinel was holding his hand with both her hands. Stevens face flushed as he looked up at Spinels face, confusion shined through his eyes, until he felt something poking the palm of his hand. Spinel slowly released her grip from his hand, revealing that she placed a twenty dollar bill in his hand, her face continued to hold a small sneer. "I don't get it...." Steven simply stated, briefly glancing at the twenty dollar bill before looking back up to eye Spinel. "Hmph.....for your ukelele" the fuchsia hair colored female explained, then turning on her heel, and headed towards the exit. "W-Wait hold on" Steven spoke up, rushing to Spinel after a few seconds of silence. "You don't have to- Steven began to speak but was quickly interrupted by the female huffing as she glared at him. "JUST fucking keep it, fix your ukelele or not, or buy whatever porn you desire alright?" She spat. The color in Stevens face slowly turned into a deep shade of red, his hand that held the twenty dollar bill shook slightly, "i-i-i-i" he stammered, blinking rapidly as he stuttered. Spinel rolled her eyes out of annoyance before snapping her fingers in front of his face, triggering Steven to break out of his trance, "take a joke will ya? Later...." She grumbled before walking through the exit. Steven could only blink as he watched her walk away, his hand still outstretched before his arm soon dropped, his muscles beginning to tire as his mind raced, "oh geez, oh geez oh geez.....what have I gotten myself into?....." he asked himself on repeat as he stood in the hallway.


	5. Chp 5 (accidental outing)

About a week had past since Spinel snuck into the boys dorm to gift Steven twenty dollars for the repair of his childhood ukelele, and at the moment, Steven was walking around outside on a very beautiful, cloudless day. He couldn't help but smile to himself, for he could feel the warmth of the sunlight tickle the skin on his face, a half eaten hot dog with ketchup was nestled in a paper boat as he walked, indicating that he was in the middle of eating his lunch. As Steven was chewing on another piece of his hotdog, he could feel his phone vibrate ever so slightly in his pocket, using his left hand to reach into the left pocket of his jeans, and he could feel the familiar smooth plastic surface of his cellphone. After the male retrieved his device from his pocket, his brown eyes lit up with excitement and happiness, for he received a text from his favorite person in the whole wide world. "Hey Steven, I'm sorry I've been so busy this week with my classes, I haven't had the chance to ask how you've been. Well.... how has college been treating you?" was what the text read, which made Steven chuckle softly to himself. His focus switched from in between his hot dog and his phone, his thumb tapped on the keyboard on his screen, "pretty good, I joined an acapella group called "AcaPals" and our first meeting is tomorrow. I'm excited, but I accidentally broke my ukelele on the second day so that's a bummer...." he typed right before he sent that text. In the few minutes that it took to recurve a new text, Steven took the opportunity to finish off his hot dog, he crumpled up the empty paper boat in his hand before tossing it away into a nearby trashcan, just in time for his phone to vibrate once again to show a new message has been received. "I'm sorry to hear that, are you able to get it fixed?" was what the text read, which made Steven frown a little, unsure if his ukelele is fixable or not, "honestly I'm not sure, I'll have to take a bus back to Beach City later when I have more time...." he replied. Stevens brown eyes were now focused solely on his phone, however, he continued to walk on the pathway, his pink flip flops were somewhat audible in the silent atmosphere. "I do hope you get it fixed soon, I know how much that ukelele means to you. I have to go soon but maybe we can FaceTime later tonight?" the text suggested, which made Stevens heart flutter, and his smile widened. "That sounds great! I can't wait, I love you Connie and I'll see you later tonight~ <3 " was what the male had typed out, and as soon as his thumb pressed the SEND button on his phone, he felt the impact of a body colliding with his body. 

"FFFFFFFFFUCKER!!!" a familiar voice screeched, and Steven knew exactly who that venemous voice belonged to. Spinel stood there on the pathway, clutching a mostly empty coffee cup with the lid now resting in the grass, the front of her white tank top was now stained with hot coffee, as was the cracked upside down heart logo on the front of her tank top, and her look of disgust now matched the ugly brown splatter of coffee on her tank top. "Spinel! Oh GEEZ IM SORRY!" Steven shouted his apology, scrambling to grab what few napkins he has in his jeans right pocket while also shoving his cellphone back into his jeans left pocket, "I-I-I-I have napkins, L-Let me help you" he stated before approaching Spinel with a fistful of napkins. Spinel was still sneering, having already tossed her coffee cup to the side where it now nestled in the green grass, dribbling coffee onto the dirt as the female held her stained tank top out with her left hand to where the dampened clothing wasn't touching her semi-flat stomach. As soon as Steven was close enough, she ripped one of the napkins out of his grasp and began to dab at her ruined clothing, "damn it that stung...." She huffed, now focused on getting as much coffee out of her tank top as she could. "H-Here let me help..." Steven gulped, now also dabbing his last napkin at her tank top, his left hand gripped at her piece of clothing so he could be able to do what he needed to do. "Tch, why weren't you looking where you were going?" Spinel growled lowly, her pink colored orbs darted up to eye the male in front of her. "I-I am so sorry, I was texting someone important...." Steven stammered as he apologized once again, his brown eyes now meeting her eyes, however his actions never stopped. "Whatever...." Spinel huffed, her gaze slowly broke from his when something else caught her eye, a small little glob of ketchup was settled onto the pink fabric of his bomber jacket, "geez, are ya a messy eater or what?" she asked softly before wiping away the red glob with her napkin. "H-Huh? O-Oh I was eating a hot dog earlier..." Steven explained gently, after dabbing at her tank top a couple more times, his hand halted before he started laughing a bit. "What's so damn funny?!" Spinel asked irritated, she already wasn't having a good day so far, and now here she was, drenched in scalding hot coffee which ruined her tank top. "Look at us, we made a mess of each other" Steven giggled, showing off his bright white teeth by smiling widely. Spinel couldn't help but look at where she was wiping the ketchup away, then she looked down at her coffee splattered clothing, and as much as she didn't want to admit it, the collision was partly her fault since she also wasn't looking where she was walking. A snicker escaped past her lips, "I guess so, you owe me a new coffee by the way...." the fuchsia hair colored female stated, attempting to score a free cup of joe from the male. "Coffee? Oh uh sure but....your shirt....oh I know!" Steven agreed to buy Spinel a new cup of coffee while taking off his jacket, "here, wear this" he suggested, offering his pink bomber jacket to her by holding it out for her to take. Spinel could only cock her head to the left in confusion, her two fuchsia ponytails drooped to the left as well, her right eyebrow was raised as she eyed the male, and his jacket. The shade of pink that dyed the fabric of his jacket was sickly sweet to look at, which matched Stevens personality, to sweet for the world to taint, and she couldn't help but grab the jacket from him. Spinel soon found herself slipping the oversized jacket on, "he's bigger than I expected...." she thought to herself as she stuck her arms through the appropriate holes, and after the clothing was settled onto her torso, she began to button up the jacket to where it stopped a button below her chest. Steven couldn't help but giggle to himself, thankful that Spinel hadn't caught onto his little laugh, "ready?" he asked softly, still holding his wide smile. Spinel rolled her eyes before shoving her hands into the pink pockets, "yea let's go...." she answered before turning around to head back to the college's cafe area. Steven jogged slightly to where he was now walking beside Spinel, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket once again, and out of curiosity he fished the device out of his jeans to see who texted him. The text from Connie read "I love you to Steven" which made Steven's heart flutter once again, and a small blush settled on his face to go along with his smile. "Hmm? That "Important Someone" text ya back?" Spinel asked, noticing his slight mood change when she glanced over to see him reading his phone. "Y-Yea, my girlfriend Connie to be exact" Steven stated proudly, his blush never faded when he turned his head to face Spinel, "she goes to a different college, but we still make it work" he explained happily. "Huh..... she's a lucky gal then~" Spinel teased, although the thought of being connected with someone for so long, and for over a great distance from each other, made her stomach churn.


	6. Chp 6 (attempted connection)

"What kind of coffee did you have earlier?" Steven asked as soon as they entered the campuses cafe. "It was just a drip coffee with sugar Star Boy, it was all I could afford" Spinel answered, shoving her hands in the pockets of the pink bomber jacket that Steven had lent her, in comparison to her thin body, the jacket seemed huge as the left shoulder was already slipping off her own shoulder. Steven smiled sweetly, "well I can get you whichever coffee you want?" He suggested as he pointed at the drinks menu. "You don't have to get me anything different Steven, just a simple drip coffee is all since you lent me your jacket" Spinel pointed out, only to earn a small chuckle in response from Steven. "Oh nonsense, I spilled coffee on you, and you gave me money to have my ukelele fixed even when you didn't have to. When you think about it, I owe you more than a drip coffee~" Steven smiled sweetly, which earned a playful eye roll from Spinel. "Alright alright, would a simple mocha satisfy your need to satisfy me?~" Spinel asked playfully, however her attempt to tease the male had failed when he didn't even react in a flustered manner. "If you want a mocha then sure, I can buy you one, is there anything else you want?" Steven asked as the line slowly moved, now having the pair be in front of the barista and his cash register. "Mm....no, not that I can think of" Spinel answered, her pink colored eyes glancing at the display case for a few seconds, her attention lingering on a specific dessert. Her stomach growled slightly as she stared at the red velvet cake slice, the red looked fluffy yet moist, and the cream cheese frosting looking oh so delectable. "How about now?" Steven asked once he noticed that Spinels focus shifted onto the dessert display case. "Well uh...." Spinel gulped slightly, hesitant to even answer Steven's question once again, but she was hungry since she couldn't afford to buy something for breakfast that day, and her eyes didn't leave the slice of cake at all. Steven looked over Spinel once more before sighing softly, "why don't you go find us a table we can sit at?" He suggested kindly. Spinel nodded in response, "yeah sure...." she replied before walking off to find a table, and she looked around the small cafe area before sitting down at a two seater table by the front window. 

Spinel sat down in one of the chairs, letting her body relax finally as she sighed to herself. Her whole body had been so tensed throughout the the time Steven had bumped into her earlier that day. Spinel honestly wanted to yell at Steven when he knocked her coffee onto him, but her demeanor changed when she saw how quick he was to apologize. It wasn't the fact how fast he said he was sorry, but the fact that he actually meant it, and he also showed how apologetic he was by lending his coat to her and was willing to replace her coffee. She had never seen that before, she had never seen someone be so kind to a stranger, and she hasn't experienced that kind of kindness in so long. That's probably why Spinel agreed to this, to hang out with this kind guy, to get to know Steven, there was just something about him that she just couldn't pinpoint. This couldn't hurt right? Hanging out with Steven for a little bit, maybe see what his game was? Maybe not befriend just yet, but at least see what he's like. Spinel sighed as she rested her head on her right hand, the fabric of her fingerless gloves felt soothing on her pale skin as she looked out the window, the day was sunny and beautiful, and she sighed softly when she felt the warmth of the light shine on her as she was deep in thought. "Feeling ok?" Steven asked softly, which in return startled Spinel so much to where she almost fell out of her seat. "Fuck! Warn a gal next time would ya?!" Spinel hissed in response, but then she sighed softly, "sorry you just startled me...." she huffed while rubbing her forehead slightly. Steven chuckled softly and set the drink carrier on the middle of the table as he sat down, Spinels mocha facing her, and Stevens drink facing him, and let's not forget to mention the slice of red velvet cake he placed in front of her. Spinel was a bit shocked that Steven even bought the dessert for her, let alone the fact that he even knew which dessert she was eyeing earlier, and that slightly creeped her out a bit. "I'm sorry I startled you, I hope I got the right dessert for you.....it was a bit hard to tell what you liked more so I ordered the first thing I saw" Steven answered as he slid into his seat, now sipping his latte as he kept his brown colored orbs on Spinel. She sighed softly before sipping her mocha, her right hand gently rubbing over the smooth and soft fabric of Steven's jacket that she still wore on her torso, "you're way to kind to me Steven, you didn't have to buy me the slice of cake...." she grumbled. Steven bit the inside of his cheek ever so slightly before responding to Spinels statement, "well....you seemed hungry, and I know cake isn't the best lunch option, but it's better than nothing right?" he asked gently. Spinel glanced from the cake towards Steven's gentle face once again, a mischievous smirk quickly spread across her face as she watched him sip at his latte, "well Universe....it sounds like you're trying to suck up to me so you can get into my pants~" she pointed out playfully. Steven was stuck in between the action of spitting out his latte, or swallowing the whole thing intake, but ultimately he did spit out a few droplets over the lid of his coffee before swallowing the rest that resulted in him going into a coughing fit. "N-No! Gosh no! I-I J-Just figured y-you were hungry!" Steven exclaimed while blushing like mad, he then grabbed a napkin from the napkin dispenser that's in the middle of the table, and he then used that napkin to wipe up any leftover coffee dribble that were stuck on his lips. Spinel watched all of this while snickering almost maliciously, "hehehee Steven, I'm just yanking your chain~" she chuckled while taking a bite of the red velvet cake, "besides, I don't go for guys that are already commited~" she explained. Steven sighed softly as he looked at the mischievous woman sitting right in front of him, "you......have a very odd sense of humor Spinel, honestly I didn't figure you to be the playful type" he admitted while also hoping it didn't sound to rude. Spinel smirked a bit, taking another bite of the delectable slice of cake, "there's.....a lot about me that you don't want to know about Steven Universe" she replied simply. "Well.....try me~" Steven smiled confidently before sipping his latte, feeling determined in getting to know Spinel for some reason. Spinel let a small huff escape past her lips, deciding to play along with his little determined demand, "fine, try this, I'm a troublemaker, a smoking delinquent, if you piss me off, just know it won't end well for you~" she purred softly. Steven gulped as he stared wide eyed at Spinel, he then slowly and awkwardly sip more of his latte, "g-good to know.... Uhm what else do you want to tell me?...." he asked softly in an attempt to move the question along. Spinel raised her left eyebrow as she looked at him in confusion, she continued to look at him as she slowly took one last bite of her red velvet cake slice, "what do you mean by that?" she asked. "Well....what else do you want to tell me? Any hobbies, likes, dislikes, other friends, family?" Steven asked, honest to God listing off common things people would discuss amongst themselves. Spinel's right thumb pressed so hard on the plastic fork that it had snapped in two in a matter of seconds, ".....one thing I dislike is nosy people....." she growled lowly in an extremely defensive manner. Steven's eyes went wide once again due to her sudden mood change, it was so hard to read what her actual emotions are, like she's been doing this for a long time, but he knew when he overstepped a boundary, and right now he probably overstepped a couple with Spinel. "S-Sorry if I made you uncomfortable...." He apologized softly so only she could hear as he looked at the broken piece of the plastic fork on the empty plate, and he looked back up to see that Spinel's face had softened a bit. "Listen Universe, one last thing I will let you know about me, I will NOT tell you anything personal about me unless I want to, which will be an extremely rare thing for me to do...." Spinel explained after sighing softly, she then looked up at the clock that was hanging on the wall behind the cashier counter, "damn it is that the time? Listen I got to go...." she explained as she stood up swiftly while still wearing Steven's jacket "listen I'm boring THIS until tonight, I'll give it back to you at your dorm later tonight alright?" she stated. "U-Uhm yeah sure, you remember what my room number is?" Steven asked a she remained in his seat, now looking up at Spinel and noticing that she was clinging the jacket tighter to her torso, more in likely to help hide the coffee stain on her white tank top until she could properly change. "Yeah, I don't forget a room number~" Spinel teased before rushing out of the cafe with whatever she had left of her mocha. Steven could only sit frozen still in his seat as he watched Spinel dart off, she was definitely hard to read for Steven Universe, but he felt like she needs a friend more than anything, and for a good reason he knew only Spinel knew.


End file.
